BBC Launches Emergency AM Radio Service For Gaza

[kevtronics]

"The BBC has launched an emergency radio service for Gaza.

BBC News Arabic will go live from Friday with the station, broadcasting one program per day on medium wave at 3 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. PT) before adding another the following week at 5 a.m. GMT (10 p.m. PT)."

BBC Launches Emergency Radio Service For Gaza

The BBC has launched an emergency radio service for Gaza. BBC News Arabic will go live from Friday with the station, broadcasting one program per day on medium wave at 3 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. PT) before…

deadline.com

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

i wonder what transmitter site theyre going to use.

The one that existed on Cyprus would make perfect sense, but the British East Mediterranean Relay Station was last used in 2015 and then demolished BBC Transmission Pylons, Zygi Cyprus

They have shortwave and AM sites in the UAE, Oman and Kuwait.. all capable of 1/2 megawatt on AM and SW, so i think Kuwait would make sense

 

[Mediafrog+]

i wonder what transmitter site theyre going to use.

They will be on 639 kHz via Cyprus.

The one that existed on Cyprus would make perfect sense, but the British East Mediterranean Relay Station was last used in 2015 and then demolished

That was the shortwave facility. Mediumwave still going.

 

[Kelly A]

This is so silly. Most consumers in the Middle East and North Africa switched to FM years ago. This is more of a way to justify keeping old MW transmission stations up and running, versus having an actual impact.

 

[Mediafrog+]

This is so silly. Most consumers in the Middle East and North Africa switched to FM years ago. This is more of a way to justify keeping old MW transmission stations up and running, versus having an actual impact.

Agree about the switch to FM, but if you are in Gaza and all your local FM stations have been bombed off the air, and the internet has been cut, and the power is out, a portable radio with AM might come in handy.

 

[kevtronics]

This is as close as you'll get to a scenario that meets all the reasons why people say we should keep AM radio on the air and in cars "just in case".

 

[Kelly A]

Agree about the switch to FM, but if you are in Gaza and all your local FM stations have been bombed off the air, and the internet has been cut, and the power is out, a portable radio with AM might come in handy.

But just as with other discussions, you're assuming people are still carrying around AM(MW) radios. Just as in Hawaii, when sh*ts being blown up around you and on fire, and you've been told to drop what you're doing and evacuate to the South or likely be blow to pieces, the last thing you're worried about is whether some stupid AM/FM portable radio has batteries. Let alone too whether the BBC might create some special Gaza evacuation channel on AM. Saving your life and your family is priority, not stupid AM radio.

 

[boombox4]

Looks like the BBC doesn't have a regular FM service to Gaza, or even to any location close to it, so I suppose the MW option is the only one they can use to try to reach people in the region, if that is their intent.

Whether they can actually serve a bombed out population is another matter. One would think the only 'mass communication' available to people inside much of Gaza is probably word of mouth.

The BBC has satellite service to the area, but it's doubtful that with the situation there are many operable satellite dishes used. The closest BBC FM is in Juba or Baghdad.

BBC broadcasts to the region:

How to listen to BBC World Service in the Middle East, Gulf states, Cyprus and Turkey

Find out how to listen to BBC World Service in the Middle East, Gulf states, Cyprus and Turkey

www.bbc.com

An interesting take on the usefulness of broadcast radio in the region during wartime.:

BBC's emergency Gaza radio broadcasts show why World Service mustn't rely on digital technology

Old-fashioned radio signals offer a way to broadcast news to war-torn areas.

theconversation.com

 

[kevtronics]

But just as with other discussions, you're assuming people are still carrying around AM(MW) radios. Just as in Hawaii, when sh*ts being blown up around you and on fire, and you've been told to drop what you're doing and evacuate to the South or likely be blow to pieces, the last thing you're worried about is whether some stupid AM/FM portable radio has batteries.

Not everyone needs to have their own personal AM radio. Just as long as someone in a group does, then anyone within earshot can listen to it.

 

[boombox4]

Not everyone needs to have their own personal AM radio. Just as long as someone in a group does, then anyone within earshot can listen to it.

And all FM radios (well, maybe 99.9% of them) have the AM band included. There may be Arabic broadcasts from other nearby countries on MW (from Syria, Kuwait, Egypt) that make it into Gaza. I'm sure the Gaza people who still have power aren't listening to Israeli media, and if local Gaza FM is off, there probably aren't many other FMs audible, unless the West Bank has Palestinian FMs.

This article, about a week old, shows a young boy charging phones with a bank of larger batteries, and also mentions that Gaza people are depending on radios because of the power and telecommunications being cut, indicating that maybe some local Gaza FMs are still operations (maybe in the southern part?).

Telecommunications cut off in Gaza after fuel runs out amid Israeli siege

Telecom companies Jawwal and Paltel say the network went out of service after 'all energy sources' were depleted.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[davideduardo]

And all FM radios (well, maybe 99.9% of them) have the AM band included. There may be Arabic broadcasts from other nearby countries on MW (from Syria, Kuwait, Egypt) that make it into Gaza. I'm sure the Gaza people who still have power aren't listening to Israeli media, and if local Gaza FM is off, there probably aren't many other FMs audible, unless the West Bank has Palestinian FMs.

The distances and terrain make any non-local FM nearly impossible. The West Bank to Gaza is about 80 or so miles on average, and there are hills (think Jerusalem) in the way. Arish in Egypt at about 35 miles from the border is the closest town with FM, and they have a number of 50 kw stations but I can't find listings for antenna height.

This article, about a week old, shows a young boy charging phones with a bank of larger batteries, and also mentions that Gaza people are depending on radios because of the power and telecommunications being cut, indicating that maybe some local Gaza FMs are still operations (maybe in the southern part?).

I've seen no reports on broadcasting, and even tried a search with nothing significant or reliable found. Palestine had a lot of local FMs and I'd presume not all were bombed or attacked by the Israeli forces.

As several have observed, it is unlikely that anyone in the strip will be seeking information on AM from some distant location.

 

[davideduardo]

But just as with other discussions, you're assuming people are still carrying around AM(MW) radios.

In lesser developed nations, the use of streaming, the presence of high speed internet and infrastructure in general is different and as much as a decade or more behind what we are used to in much of the USA and places like Western Europe, Australia, Korea and Japan.

And, in many cases where there is conflict, the AM/FM radios in cars represent the only options because the car has self-contained power and is "portable¨.

 

[Kelly A]

I've seen no reports on broadcasting, and even tried a search with nothing significant or reliable found. Palestine had a lot of local FMs and I'd presume not all were bombed or attacked by the Israeli forces.

As several have observed, it is unlikely that anyone in the strip will be seeking information on AM from some distant location.

And to that point; 99% of listening in the MENA went over to FM years ago. If Hamas FM was knocked out, nobody is bothering to search AM to see what some distant Western station might be broadcasting. As I said; people are just trying to survive, not get caught up on the news.

 

[david]

Israel historically allocated its most powerful AM transmitter to its Arab language network - Reshet Dalet on 737 kHz with 100 kW of power. These days Reshet Dalet is heard on FM. Two nearby transmitters in Beer-Sheva broadcast the network on 93.3 and 94.4.

Recent articles report Gazans do listen to Israeli radio: 34-year-old Fatin Saleem was interviewed and said her family acquired a battery-powered radio to keep her informed of the latest developments. Fatin explained: "I can understand Hebrew, so occasionally, I tune in to Israeli radio stations when the local ones are offline."

 

[Kelly A]

Israel historically allocated its most powerful AM transmitter to its Arab language network - Reshet Dalet on 737 kHz with 100 kW of power. These days Reshet Dalet is heard on FM. Two nearby transmitters in Beer-Sheva broadcast the network on 93.3 and 94.4.
View attachment 6175
Recent articles report Gazans do listen to Israeli radio: 34-year-old Fatin Saleem was interviewed and said her family acquired a battery-powered radio to keep her informed of the latest developments. Fatin explained: "I can understand Hebrew, so occasionally, I tune in to Israeli radio stations when the local ones are offline."

That'll be great. They can listen to music and talk in a foreign language created by the same people who ran them out of their homes and is blowing up everything around them.

 

[davideduardo]

That'll be great. They can listen to music and talk in a foreign language created by the same people who ran them out of their homes and is blowing up everything around them.

Yes, the same people who were granted their heritage territory by the UN nearly 80 years ago and who have been attacked almost constantly ever since.

And the Arabic service uses not only their own language, but the dialect appropriate for the region.

 

[david]

That'll be great. They can listen to music and talk in a foreign language created by the same people who ran them out of their homes and is blowing up everything around them.

You violated the standards of RadioDiscussions, which is to keep the focus on radio and media; not politics. But since you went there... I will respond:

1. Israel disengaged fully from Gaza in 2005 and kept the economic infrastructure intact, notably agricultural. She set up job permits for Gazans who wish to earn salaries in Israel. Israel also crafted plans for building an airport in Gaza to service the local population. All that got destroyed when Hamas executed a violent coup in 2007 against its coalition partner, the Palestinian Authority
2. Hamas could end all this tomorrow if it released the hostages, put down its arms, and surrendered so that the Palestinian people could begin to assemble responsible governance
3. Israelis desire regional neighborliness with the Palestinians and all countries in the region... yet this is the violent charter Hamas adheres to:

 

[david]

Yes, the same people who were granted their heritage territory by the UN nearly 80 years ago and who have been attacked almost constantly ever since.

And the Arabic service uses not only their own language, but the dialect appropriate for the region.

David... I think you meant attacking (not attacked). Israel desires to live in peace with its neighbors, the moment they choose to not resist and struggle, but rather stop attacking and terrorizing. The moment Palestinians choose to instead build a society and a country (with great radio stations) existing side by side with Israel, including the 25 miles of pristine seaside real estate in Gaza; land which can easily become a wonderful location, akin to Singapore. RAM FM proved this is possible. It was an independent English-speaking radio station broadcasting from Ramallah in 2007 and 2008.

 

[fybush]

And we're way off the mission of this board, which is discussion of broadcasting.